Japan September 2013: New gen pushes Honda Fit back up to #3

Honda Fit 3

* See the Top 30 best-selling models and Top 13 All-local brands by clicking on the title! *

For only the second time in the last 12 months with last April, Japanese sales of new regular vehicles are actually up year-on-year in September at +12% to 324,315 registrations, reducing the year-to-date drop to 9% at 2,467,072 units. Fans of the Toyota Aqua should get excited: it delivers another month in pole position, the third in a row and the 9th in the last 12 months thanks to sales up 20% on September 2012 to 26,543, a 3,500-unit advantage over the Toyota Prius up just 4% to 23,069. This means the Aqua is now 13,300 units above the Prius year-to-date and can now seriously (but quietly) dream of its first Full Year in pole position…

Toyota SAI

The pole position is not a scary thought for the Honda Fit: previous generations of the model held it over a Full Year in 2002 (interrupting 22 consecutive years of Toyota Corolla reign!) and 2008. The third generation of the model, just launched in Japan, enables the nameplate to reclaim the #3 spot from the Nissan Note with sales already up 55% year-on-year to 19,388 units. The new Fit could very well manage a monthly #1 ranking before the end of the year. As a reminder, the last time the Honda Fit topped the Japanese sales charts was in May 2011, right in the aftermath of the terrible tsunami that hit the country in February of that year.

Mazda Premacy

Other great year-on-year gainers in Japan this month include the Toyota Corolla up 81% to #6, the Honda StepWGN up 71% and 3 spots on August to #7, the Toyota Crown up 182% but down 2 ranks on last month to #11, the Toyota Vellfire up 71% to #12, Subaru Forester up 5905% (!) to #18, Toyota Alphard up 140% to #21 and Nissan X-Trail up 24% to #22. Finally, we welcome back two models inside the monthly Top 30: the Toyota SAI (aka Lexus HS) is up 517% year-on-year to #28 with 2,185 sales thanks to its August 29 facelift and the Mazda Premacy up 77% to #29 and 2,092 units. The last appearance of these cars in the Top 30 was in August 2011 and January 2012 respectively.

Previous month: Japan August 2013: Toyota Aqua #1, Honda Freed back up to #7

One year ago: Japan September 2012: Nissan Note hits highest volume ever

Full September 2013 Top 30 models and Top 13 All-local brands Ranking Tables below.